We wanted to create a kind of environment-efficient approach in the students about sustainability in European hospitality and tourism. During their stay, they had to monitor how the hospitality industry could be environmentally conscious. They were able to observe how drinking water is conserved, how waste water is cleaned and how waste is handled properly in a hotel and a restaurant. One of our objectives was to make them observe the extent to which the local catering units used the procurement of goods from local producers for the kitchen, since an important element of a healthy diet is the use of local and seasonal ingredients. The less time a vegetable or fruit is being transported, the fresher and more nutritious it is. In Austria, for example, it was observed that the practical kitchen workshop of the local partner school uses only organic products. The raw materials are obtained from the local producers, who use chemicals thoughtfully, since their children at school eat at the local canteen. The topic we chose in the project was very much in line with the priority of program, the institutional goals, educational development, ensuring the students' marketable knowledge, and also contributed to the acquisition of professional experience spent abroad.
Sustainability and environmental protection are one of the most pressing issues and therefore one of the most controversial topics of our time. In order to protect our environment, it is important for us that our students strive to prevent and eliminate any damage caused. Hospitality and tourism is an area whose operation has many harmful effects on the environment, and it is the task of young people to mitigate and reduce this. In the 2020 academic year, the Sustainability Project Year was launched in our institution, within the framework of which our goal was to implement international and institutional-level projects related to the sustainability theme weeks, which can be integrated into everyday school life in the long term and with the active participation of students, contribute to protecting our immediate environment, reducing the school ecological footprint and draw attention to the inescapable importance of this topic. The aim of the project in the Erasmus program was for the students to conduct observations on the chosen topic in six partner countries, to learn about local specialties, the sustainability and environmental protection regulations being typical of the region, and methods ranging from a German family pension to a Polish five-star hotel.